TU student-athletes graduate with a lot to be proud of

By Kyle Hobstetter on May 17, 2017

Highlights for student-athletes include top graduation rates, high APR scores, being
one of the top schools in community service and success in their sports.

TU Athletics will graduate 70 student-athletes during the 2017 Spring Commencement
Ceremony. This will include 23 students graduating with honors.

When a Towson University student-athlete graduates, he or she is given a special stole
to wear at Commencement that features the Towson Tigers’ logo and the words “Student-Athlete.”

Seventy student-athletes—including 23 graduating with honors—will wear their stoles as
they walk across the SECU Arena stage from May 24-26 during the spring 2017 Commencement
ceremonies.

Along with the 18 student-athletes who graduated in December, a total of 88 Towson
Tigers will have graduated this academic year.

For Geoff Gordon, Towson University’s assistant athletic director for academic achievement,
graduation should be the student-athlete’s ultimate goal. That’s why the stole is
always hanging in his office — as a reminder of why they are here.

“I have it there to show every student who walks in here. That stole is the ultimate
goal,” Gordon said. “You need to graduate and get out into the working world.”

Jillian Gallogly (track and field) — Injury derailed her senior year, so Gallogly
focused on her teaching career. She was recently offered an advanced contract to teach
next year for severely disabled children and young adults.
John Hulede (men’s golf) — Along with his work on the golf course, Hulede has self-published
a book of poetry titled “Becoming Man.” He also serves as a Presidential Ambassador.
Megan Knoblock (track and field) — The senior distance runner was awarded a NCAA post-graduate
scholarship and will begin graduate work at the University of Florida specializing
in athlete performance and development.
LaTorri Hines-Allen (women’s basketball) — Hines-Allen left Towson University in 2015
after scoring 1,000 career points. After playing professionally in Luxembourg, she came
back to school and will earn her degree this year in theatre arts.
Tyler Konen (men’s lacrosse) — Konen has helped Towson University men’s lacrosse win
three-straight Colonial Athletic Association championships. He also has maintained
a 3.7 grade point average while majoring in biology with a pre-med track.
Corie Morton (women’s swimming and diving) — The freestyle swimmer will graduate a
year early with a degree in exercise science. She will pursue nursing in her further
studies.
Allie Stauffer (field hockey) — She has had opportunities to work on campus through
athletic department with Walter Reed and the TRACS program with the exercise science
faculty.
Darius Victor (football) — Despite only playing four games his senior year, he ran
for more than 3,300 yards and recorded 41 touchdowns. The electronic media and film
major is currently on the tryout roster for the New Orleans Saints.

Along with their work in the classroom, Towson University’s student-athletes have
also excelled on the playing field and in performing community service. The 2016-17
year has been filled with many highlights for TU athletics.

TU has best graduation rates in Maryland

With 88 more student-athletes becoming alumni this spring, TU athletics continues
to have one of the top Division I athletic programs in the state of Maryland regarding
graduation rates.

According to an October 2016 report, Towson University has a student-athlete graduation
rate of 71 percent — the highest for any Division I public institution in Maryland.

To go along with those statewide numbers, Towson University is ranked in the top five
percent nationally in African-American male student-athlete graduation, rate according
to the Federal Graduation Rate compiled by the US Department of Education. These rankings
go along with student-athletes having higher graduation rates and grade point averages
than the rest of the Towson University general population.

TU tops APR rankings

The Academic Progress Rate (APR) is what the NCAA uses to measure the eligibility
and retention for student-athletes. It was developed as an early indicator of eventual
graduation rates.

The APR also includes multi-year scores, with men’s basketball, men’s golf, women’s
cross country, gymnastics and women’s tennis having multi-year scores of 1,000. These
teams were also honored with the Academic Progress Rate Public Recognition award for
finishing in the Top 10 percent for their sports.

Tigers on top of their game

The 2016-17 season saw the Towson Tigers men’s basketball team win 20 games for the
third time in the last four years.
The Towson men’s lacrosse team won its third-straight CAA Championship. The Tigers
also won their opening round game in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, beating Penn State
12-8.
The TU women’s lacrosse team earned its second-straight NCAA Tournament berth.
The women’s track and field team won its first CAA track and field championship. Sophomore
Lauren Coleman also won the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) shot put.
Sophomore swimmer Jack Saunderson was named the 2017 CAA swimmer of the year.

Towson top the nation in community service

Towson University’s student-athletes have also taken pride in their community service
work.

As an athletic department, TU ranked sixth overall nationally in NCAA Team Works’
Helper Helper Community Service Competition and finished first among men’s programs
at the Division I level.

NCAA Team Works, which coordinates community service efforts at NCAA championships,
and Helper Helper, a volunteer service management and tracking platform, launched
the competition to recognize student-athletes who give back to their communities.
The competition ran from January through March. The winning schools were determined
based on the amount of service hours completed and the participation of student-athletes.

In addition to TU’s overall ranking, the men’s basketball team ranked first nationally
among Division I men’s team sports participating in the competition, while men’s lacrosse
ranked fifth.

"This is terrific for our program and university," TU men's basketball head coach
Pat Skerry said. "Community service is one of the core values of our program. I am
grateful for my dedicated staff that emphasizes the importance to our players of serving
others and giving back.”

The entire Towson University athletic department has made a huge impact in the Greater
Baltimore area. During the first semester of the 2016-17 academic year, the Tigers
recorded 5,884 hours of community service and are approaching over 10,000 community
service hours for the entire year.

All of these accolades are not new to those who work in the Towson University athletic
department. Those individuals who get to spend time with the student-athletes know
how hard they work in all facets of their lives.

“All the credit in the world goes to our student-athletes,” Gordon said. “In my opinion,
Towson University athletics is lucky these students are willing to put the work in.
And it’s not just with their sport, but they also put the work into their studies
and making themselves better.”